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THE
AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF SALVATION
Lesson 27
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Looking
unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before Him endured
the cross, despising the shame, and is set down
at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Hebrews 12:2 KJV
Jesus is called the
author of the Christian faith because He has
demonstrated the true meaning of faith in God.
Consider His destiny for a moment. Jesus did not
want to go to the cross. (Luke 22:42) He had done
nothing to deserve death. (Hebrews 4:15) Yet, it
was the Fathers will that He go to the
cross so He obediently submitted and went
to His death. This was a perfect demonstration of
living by faith in God. The knowledge that
sustained Jesus during the terrible ordeal of the
cross was the joy of knowing that many human
beings would receive the gift of eternal life.
So, Jesus obediently laid His own life down and
allowed cruel men to nail Him to the cross. He
accepted the shame and humiliation associated
with dying as a criminal. The penalty for sinners
was laid on Him. Just before He died, Jesus
uttered words that demonstrate the depth of His
great faith. He cried out,
Father,
into your hands I commit my spirit. (Luke
23:46) In such trying circumstances, His words
reveal something very beautiful.
Paul says that Jesus is
the finisher (Greek: teleiotes) of our faith. The
word teleiotes means completeness or perfection.
In this sense Jesus is a perfect example of what
faith in God should be. As Jesus hung on the
cross, He became totally separated from the
Father. Never before had He felt the depth of
despair that comes from Gods silence
He had always had the assurance of the Holy
Spirits presence. Now, the Father actually
put Jesus in the position of those sinners who
will experience the second death. God made
him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in
him we might become the righteousness of
God. (2 Corinthians 5:21) In other words,
Jesus actually experienced the death required by
God to pay for the penalty of sin. During His
darkest moment, Jesus did not know if He would be
resurrected. Yes, He predicted His resurrection
on the third day (Luke 9:22), but His prediction
was a statement of faith, not fact. He knew that
His resurrection was contingent on receiving the
Fathers approval of His entire earthy
ministry. Therefore, when Paul says that Jesus is
the finisher or perfecter (NIV) of our faith, few
of us grasp the importance of these words. Jesus
stepped across the portal from life to the second
death maintaining perfect faith in God even
though He did not know if He would be restored to
life. Wow! What incredible love what
incredible faith!
Jesus, the Centerpiece of
Bible Prophecy
Jesus is the centerpiece
of Bible prophecy. (Colossians 1:18) Bible
prophecy predicts a time will come when Jesus
Christ is fully revealed to this world. (Matthew
26:64; Revelation 1:1-3) The revelation of all
that Jesus is unfolds in a sequence of events
a grand process built into the Plan of
salvation. As the revelation Of Jesus unfolds, it
illuminates what the Godhead is all about. Jesus
is the Word, the Spokesperson for the Godhead.
(John 1:1-14) Jesus is the beginning and end of
information abut God. He is the Alpha and the
Omega. (Revelation 1:8) The Greek alphabet begins
with a character called an alpha and it ends with
a character called the omega. The character of
the Godhead begins and ends with Jesus. In other
words, we cannot correctly understand the ways of
the Godhead without knowing and understanding
Jesus. The wonderful thing about the Plan of
Salvation is that a person can be saved from
eternal death without understanding the Godhead
or even knowing about Jesus! This is very good
news when you consider that billions of people
live (and have lived) on this planet who never
heard of Jesus or His offer of salvation. This is
a profound topic and worthy of consideration.
Salvation is not Based on
Absolute Knowledge
For some people, the
following concept is a completely new thought:
Salvation is not based on an absolute knowledge
of God. Many Christians are taught that in order
to receive salvation they must know about Jesus
and His offer of salvation. Instead, mans
salvation is based solely on the merits of
something that Jesus Christ did for the whole
world AND our willingness to obediently submit to
the authority of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus died
on the cross, He reconciled the whole world to
God. For if, when we were Gods
enemies, we were reconciled to him through the
death of his Son, how much more, having been
reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have now received reconciliation. (Romans
5:10,11) This verse says that mankind was
reconciled to god through Jesus when we were
still Gods enemies! This reconciliation
does not mean that everyone on Earth will receive
eternal life as some people claim. Rather, it
means that Jesus paid the penalty due each sinner
so that each sinner can receive the gift of
eternal life, but only if he or she is willing to
obediently surrender to the authority of the Holy
Spirit. The born again experience
occurs whenever a person obediently surrenders
his heart to the control of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, I tell you the truth, no one
can see the kingdom of God unless he is born
again. (John 3:3) Paul wrote, Those
who live according to the sinful nature have
their minds set on what that nature desires; but
those who live in accordance with the Spirit have
their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The
mind of sinful man is death, but the mind
controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the
sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit
to Gods law, nor can it do so. Those
controlled by the sinful nature cannot please
God. (Romans 8:5-8)
God examines our mind; He
knows our motives because He knows our heart. The
Spirit knows whether we obediently submit to His
demands in faith or whether we are living in
rebellion. God cannot be fooled. The greatest of
all sins and the only one that cannot be forgiven
is an attitude of continuing stubbornness that
refuses to submit to the authority of the Holy
Spirit. Jesus said, And so I tell you,
every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but
the blasphemy {rebellion} against the Spirit will
not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against
the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who
speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven, either in this age or the age to
come. (Matthew 12:31,32, insertion mine.)
The bottom line is this:
if a person allows the Holy Spirit to live within
his or her heart and soul, God considers that
person a child of the kingdom. Salvation is not
based on an absolute knowledge of God. Instead,
it is based on submission to the Holy Spirit.
This is ground zero. This is where every human
being starts his or her walk with God. The Spirit
approaches every person to see if He can find
residence there. If He can, life begins to
change. A new character begins to develop as
desires begin to change. This is how knowledge
fits in. Paul wrote, Faith comes from
hearing the message, and the message is heard
through the word of Christ. (Romans 10:17)
Paul does not say that salvation comes by simply
agreeing with truth. Paul says that our faith in
God increases as we learn more from the teaching
of Christ. A person wants to know more about
Christ because the Spirit creates the interest!
Again, notice the order of events. First the
Spirit dwells within, followed by an obedient
submission to His dominion, and then a thirst for
more knowledge begins. There is an enormous
difference between living in obedient faith to
god and merely agreeing with certain statements
about God. The demons know that God is omnipotent
and they tremble! (James 2:19) This knowledge
does not save them from their destined
destruction. Knowledge does not save, but
knowledge will increase our faith in God if the
Holy Spirit has gained entrance into our hearts.
God Created Diversity
Because God ordained it,
billions of people currently live (and have
lived) on the Earth. Paul said, From one
man he {God} made every nation of men, that they
should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined
the times set for them and the exact places where
they should live. God did this so that men would
seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find
him, though he is not far from each one of us.
For in him we live and move and have our
being. As some of your poets have said,
We are his offspring. (Acts 17:
26-28, insertion mine) God knows there are
billions of people who truly love a divine entity
they call God. These sincere people serve their
God to the best of their knowledge and ability.
Honesty and sincerity in serving God are evidence
of the indwelling Spirit. This is true for the
Muslim, for the Jew, for the Catholic, or the
Protestant. According to Jesus, the Godhead
accepts all people as children of the
kingdom if they obediently submit to the
authority of the Holy Spirit, even though they
may not know about Jesus. (John 4:23; 10:16;
Romans 2:14,15) This truth reveals how great
Gods love is. Because mankind has been
reconciled to God through Jesus, God accepts
everyone who allows the Holy Spirit to have
dominion in his or her lives.
Many Will Be Surprised
At the last day, Jesus
will resurrect many people who have never heard
of His name and give them eternal life! This is
possible because God offers salvation on this
generous basis: Anyone who submits to the
indwelling authority of the Holy Spirit will
mature into the kind of person that Gods wants to
live within His eternal home. People who
obediently submit to the Holy Spirit live by
faith. (Roman 1:17; 8:5) The ministry of the Holy
Spirit is a gift from God to all people. (See
Joel 2:28,29; Romans 3:28-30 and Romans 12:3) The
Holy Spirit attempts to reside in every heart.
His mission is to draw people near to God, even
if some of them have no knowledge about God.
(John 3; Romans 2:14,15; Acts 10:34,35) The Holy
Spirit creates a hunger for knowledge about God
and a desire for a relationship with Him. Just
because the presence of the Holy Spirit dwells
within us does not mean we have an automatic
infusion of knowledge about God. Instead, the
first work of the Spirit is too developing a new
attitude within a persons character. He
wants to produce a joyful, obedient, submissive
heart that will hunger to know God and His truth!
Just like steel is attracted to a magnet, any
person who allows the Holy Spirit to direct his
or her life will be irresistibly drawn to greater
truth about God and His will. (John 3:21; 16:13)
In fact, the presence of childlike humility and
the thirst for the living water of truth about
God is one of the most obvious signs of a
born again person. (Matthew 5:6)
Attitude First and
Foremost
Every teacher knows that
conduct is a reflection of inner attitude, and if
a good attitude is established first, problems
can be solved within the classroom faster and
more permanently. Jesus certainly understands the
process. This is why He offers salvation to man
without the necessity of works. If Gods
goodness and generosity do not soften our
rebellious attitude toward His authority, eternal
life with a bad attitude would be hell for a
sinner and for everyone around him or her! Our
attitude towards Gods authority is
inherently rebellious because we are born under
the influence of sin. The law of sin goes to work
within our brain the day we are born. (Romans
7:17,23) Therefore God sends the Holy Spirit to
create a sweet spirit within each of us to
prepare us for His presence. Eternal life would
be pointless if our attitude toward God is not
amicably and warmly reconciled to the fact that
He has sovereign authority over us. I the
Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to
reward a man according to his conduct, according
to what his deeds deserve. (Jeremiah 17:10)
Gods interest and love for humankind are
incompre-hensible. For example, whenever a person
follows the Holy Spirits prompting
even if that person does not understand
everything there is to know about the Father,
Jesus, or even the Holy Spirit the Godhead
accepts that person as a member of the kingdom.
The Godhead accepts a person when his or her
heart becomes willing by faith to obey the Holy
Spirit and do whatever the Spirit requires. God
knows that if this person knew more, he or she
would do more. From Gods point of view, the
essential problem with fallen man is the stubborn
refusal to submit to the Holy Spirit! (Matthew
12:31) When the Holy Spirit is allowed to stay
within a persons heart, that person
exhibits the childlike attitude God is looking
for. (Matthew 18:3) Although my understanding of
God has changed dramatically during many years of
study, my thirst for truth about God remains the
same. It is very assuring to know that Gods
love for us is not proportionate to our knowledge
of Him. Jesus loved me long before I ever knew
Him. Even more, Jesus loves me even though I do
not know even 1 percent about Him!
Knowledge is Constantly
Eclipsed
Some well meaning people
believe they know the whole truth
about God and His will for mankind, but this is
not possible. No created being on Earth or in
Heaven knows the whole truth about
the Godhead. Even if one person knew everything
about God that could be known today, his or her
knowledge would have to be updated tomorrow
because truth about God is ever unfolding.
Todays advancing knowledge constantly
eclipses the limits of what was known yesterday.
Since we cannot comprehend the whole truth
about an infinite God at any given time, it is
more important to live by faith. Many people in
every religion live up to all they know to be
right and they thirst for greater truth. These
are Gods children. Remember that we are not
saved by knowledge but by our faith in God.
(Romans 3:21-26) So, whether a person is a
Moslem, Jew, Hindu, Catholic, Protestant or even
an atheist, religious persuasion is secondary in
matters of salvation. A person is given
Christs righteousness as long as he or she
submits to the authority of the Holy Spirit. If a
Hindu is seeking greater truth about God and is
honestly living up to all the Holy Spirit has put
in his or her heart, God accepts that person as
His child. If you are a bit skeptical about this
matter, consider the story of the Jewish zealot,
Saul. Jesus called Saul into His service while he
was on his way to Damascus to destroy Christians.
The conclusions Saul had in his head were totally
wrong, but God could see that his heart was
right. (Acts 9) It may be hard to comprehend, but
consider Gods magnificent grace of
accepting people from all walks of life on the
basis of obedient faith alone!
Knowledge Has a Place
You may ask, what is the
point of having knowledge about Jesus if you are
saved by faith alone? Furthermore, what is the
point of promoting the gospel of Jesus to the
world if the Holy Spirit already lives within
people of all religious systems? These are good
questions and I believe the answers center on
this point: To correctly understand the will,
ways and plans of the Godhead, man has to know
Jesus Christ. There is no other way. Jesus
answered, I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me. If you really knew me, you would know
the Father as well. From now on, you do know him
and have seen him. (John 14:6,7) Jesus is
the Alpha and the Omega enlightening mans
Humanity must correctly understand the will, ways
and plans of the Godhead for two important
reasons: First, the truth about God sets man free
of superstitious burdens (nonsense) and false
guilt. (John 8:32) Religion at its best is a
mixture of partial truth, degenerate culture,
foolish speculation and superstition. The older
religion gets, the more corrupt it becomes. In
general, religious leaders become more concerned
with authority and control over people than with
the advancement of truth and spiritual growth
with their congregations. Jesus was crucified
because His teachings weakened the control of the
religious authorities over the people. (John
11:50) Historically, religion has caused more
wars, separated more people and produced more
grief than any other institution on Earth. On the
other hand, greater truth about God sets people
free from the heavy burden that religion can
impose. (Matthew 11:28) The second reason man
needs a correct understanding of God is this:
Fullness of life is discovered only through
knowing the Lord Jesus. Jesus is the Alpha
Architect of life and the Omega Over comer
of every problem. The more we know about the
Designer and His designs for life, the higher and
more fulfilling the human experience will be. If
a person adopts Gods principles of life,
then his or her life will be noble and honorable.
Each person will enjoy the benefits of respect,
and integrity will produce many rewards. So, the
knowledge of Jesus Christ and His teaching is
important. With this knowledge come freedom and a
higher and more fulfilling human experience.
Eternal Jesus
The Bible teaches that
Jesus has existed forever. (Colossians 1:17;
Isaiah 48:12,13) It is hard for finite minds to
comprehend that Jesus has no beginning and no
end. He is an eternal being just like the Father
and the Holy Spirit. He was not created and He is
not a lesser God or inferior to the Father.
(Colossians 1:15-19; John 5:23; 10:30) Jesus is
Almighty God just like the Father and the Holy
Spirit are Almighty Gods. (Genesis 17:1; Isaiah
44:6; 47:4; Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3; Revelation
1:8) If you are willing to see it, the Bible
teaches that there are three distinct and
separate eternal Gods in Heaven. The plurality of
the Godhead is introduced in the first chapters
of Genesis, supported throughout the Bible and
summarized in final chapters of Revelation.
The progressive
revelation of Jesus is the focal point of the
Bible because the Godhead predetermined that the
process of revealing all that Jesus is was the
best way to illuminate their purposes, plans and
actions.
Be assured, Jesus is not
self-seeking or self-promoting. On the contrary,
no being has sacrificed more or shown more
genuine humility than the Author and finisher of
our faith. When He was here on Earth, He did not
travel in a gold-plated chariot with hundreds of
heralds announcing His appearance. He did not
dress in kingly robes or purple or wear costly
jewels. He did not seek the approval or
endorsement of religious and political leaders
with weasel words or compromise. Even during the
donkey-back parade into Jerusalem, King Jesus was
not beguiled by the pseudo-praise of a
spontaneous crowd. Instead, He immediately
angered religious authorities by going straight
to His temple to reprove the horde of greedy
thieves who were conducting business
in His house of prayer. (Matthew 21:7-14) For
almost 30 years Jesus traveled the dusty roads of
Galilee as a poor carpenter. He did not seek
fame, and even when the devil offered to give Him
the kingdoms of the world, Jesus would not bow
down and worship him. (Luke 4:5-8) Jesus was not
on a mission to capture the wealth and glory of
this world. He did not come to entertain the
carnal heart and win its affection, but to
transform it. The miracles He performed were not
done to impress the people with His prowess, but
to reveal the Father. He came on a mission to
seek and save a lost world. Every miracle He
performed was calculated to confirm His testimony
about the ways of the Godhead. If you really want
to get a good snapshot of what Jesus was like on
Earth, read the entire chapter of John in one
sitting. You will be amazed at the conflict He
faced and the courage and tenderness He
expressed! You will be amazed at the stubbornness
and meanness of carnal hearts.
The Greatest Sacrifice
Consider this point: When
Adam and Eve sinned, Jesus immediately offered
Himself to the Father as mans substitute.
Jesus offered to become a man and die in
mans place. Carefully evaluate what this
means. First, Jesus was willing to become a man.
This is an act of humility that boggles my mind.
Think of it! The Creator of the universe became a
mere mortal and subjected Himself to death, just
like man is subject to death! The human race was
created lower than angels. Jesus is God, as well
as the Archangel Michael, and His offer to become
the second Adam was an immeasurable
condescension. (1 Corinthians 15:45; Hebrews
2:7-9) Second, we know the wages of sin is
eternal death. (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23;
Revelation 20:15) When Jesus offered to die for
humanity, He was not only willing to die as
people do, but also willing to cease to exist
forever so that we could have the opportunity of
eternal life. This selfless offer from Jesus
truly reflects the heart of our Father. This
condescension reveals so much about the character
of the Godhead. They were willing to disrupt
their eternal union to redeem fallen humanity!
(John 3:16) Yes, the Father did promise to
resurrect Jesus, but His promise was conditional.
Jesus had to succeed live a perfect
sinless life in order to regain eternal
life. (John 10:18; Acts 2:32,33; Hebrews 5:7-10)
If Jesus had failed, He would have come under the
penalty of the same law that condemns all
sinners. The risk and sacrifice were great.
Jesus, eternal God and Creator of Heaven and
Earth, was willing to take the risk. If
necessary, Jesus was willing to perish forever
just so man could have an opportunity to
be restored to the Garden of Eden. It was the
ultimate gift
the ultimate sacrifice!
Because Jesus offered so much, the Father has
decreed that Jesus will be exalted above everyone
in the universe. (Psalms 2:1; 1 Corinthians
15:24-28; Revelation 5: 1-12) This exaltation is
an ongoing process. As time passes, the
revelation of Jesus Christ becomes greater and
greater. The Plan of Salvation requires that
Jesus be fully disclosed, verifying that He has
all the prerogatives of God. The revelation of
Jesus will be accomplished by the end of the
1,000 years and every being in the universe will
know that Michael the Archangel,
Jesus the man, is Almighty God.
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